The costs, and benefits, of the influencer economy

Influencers on social media have the power to control retail brand conversations and impact consumers' purchasing decisions. But what price are retailers paying to make these connections?

By Lara Ewen • Dec. 6, 2017

Target rolls out much-anticipated mobile wallet feature

The mass merchant is the latest to join the mobile wallet club, yet has a long way to go to catch up with the likes of Walmart.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 5, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

How retailers are thinking about in-store experience

Complementary shop-in-shops, age-appropriate experiences and integrated technology are just a few ways retailers are reworking stores to suit shoppers.

By Retail Dive staff

Gap lost 54% of its shoppers in one year

What's more, almost four out of every 10 (38%) of the retailer's lost customers shopped at Old Navy instead, according to research from 1010data.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 5, 2017

Poor personalization cost businesses $756B last year

Retailers are facing a major conundrum — how to balance consumer frustration with bad recommendations and their fear of giving up personal info.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2017

Disruptor of the Year: Brandless

Brandless burst onto the retail scene earlier this year with 110 products, all with a good-for-you ethos and modern design. Brandless looked like a store brand, without the store — and that was pretty much the point. 

By Laura Heller • Dec. 4, 2017

The Retail Dive Awards for 2017

The 2017 Retail Dive Awards recognize the industry’s top disruptors and innovators. These executives, companies and trends are transforming the industry and shaping the future.

By Corinne Ruff , Ben Unglesbee , Laura Heller , Cara Salpini • Dec. 4, 2017

In-store experiences lag due to poor IT infrastructure

Only 27% of retail executives are confident their IT can keep up with customer experience improvement plans, according to a new survey.

By Dan O'Shea • Dec. 4, 2017

Study: 39% of marketers will increase influencer marketing budgets in 2018

Trends in the space are likely to include using a variety of types of influencers and leveraging the content to enhance other channels.

By Erica Sweeney • Dec. 4, 2017

Macy's boosts holiday hiring by 7K thanks to strong traffic

Chief Stores Officer John Harper said the department store retailer has seen "high customer volume across our business" so far this season.

By Ben Unglesbee • Dec. 1, 2017

Small Business Saturday sales shrink

Roughly 108 million shoppers spent $12.9 billion on Main Street, down from last year’s 112 million shoppers, who spent $15.4 billion.

By Daphne Howland • Dec. 1, 2017

Gen Z is late to holiday shopping

One third of consumers in the age group don’t start holiday shopping until after Black Friday and 15% don’t start until after Dec. 15, according to a new study. 

By David Kirkpatrick • Dec. 1, 2017

Retail Therapy: Nordstrom puts shoe fashion to the guillotine

A pair of Marie Antoinette-inspired shoes would have the lady herself rolling over in her grave — but at least she'd be able to afford the royal price tag.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 30, 2017

Wayfair Black Friday weekend sales soar 53%

The online furniture retailer is in the right place at the right time as furniture buying and selling moves online.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 30, 2017

30 minutes with Sephora’s head of marketing

Deborah Yeh, SVP of marketing and brand at Sephora, gave Retail Dive a glimpse into three of the retailer's most dynamic marketing moves.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 29, 2017

The store of the future won't be Amazon

But it will have elements of Amazon in a mash up that marries the best disruptive technologies to create in-store experiences worth visiting, writes Christopher Walton, former vice president of Target's Store of the Future.

By Christopher Walton • Nov. 29, 2017

What retailers need to do right now to survive

As retailers drop like flies, shuttering stores and filing for bankruptcy, Lee Peterson of WD Partners outlines three key survival strategies.

By Lee Peterson • Nov. 28, 2017

7 lessons from Cyber Monday

The online sales holiday raked in $6.6 billion — up 17% over last year — and showed the rising force of mobile in digital holiday sales. 

By Ben Unglesbee • Nov. 28, 2017

Amazon aggressively prices Echo in holiday power play

Heading into Cyber Monday, the company heavily promoted devices with its Alexa smart assistant, a segment where it already holds a 70% market share.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 28, 2017

Athleta, Lululemon score big on in-store experience

While the Lego Store and the Disney Store took the top two spots, Nordstrom, Nike and T.J. Maxx also performed well, according to a study by reputation.com.

By Daphne Howland • Nov. 27, 2017

How Walmart is using tech this holiday season

Advances such as virtual reality-based training and inventory-scanning robots have arrived just in time to make the holiday rush more manageable for staff.

By Dan O'Shea • Nov. 26, 2017

Buoyed by mobile, Black Friday shopping off to strong start

Online sales — particularly mobile — appear to be powering the Black Friday weekend. 

By Laura Heller • Nov. 24, 2017

What 4 charts from Black Friday 2016 tell us about this year

The big shopping day is key for retailers across the sector. Here are some of the top trends we saw last year — and can expect to see again.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 22, 2017

Cyber Monday emails convert 53% more than Black Friday ones

The online shopping day is having more success for marketers, although Black Friday still posts above average open rates, according a new study.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 22, 2017

Retail Therapy: Neiman Marcus is thankful for deep pockets

From a $527 turkey dinner to a Cyber Monday escape pod, this edition is all about the holiday weekend.

By Cara Salpini • Nov. 22, 2017

A retailer’s guide to Black Friday 2017: 3 trends to watch

The shopping holiday has turned into a month-long event culminating over Thanksgiving weekend. From which Twitter accounts to follow to trends to watch, here's what you need to know this year.  

By Corinne Ruff • Nov. 22, 2017